Damper assembly



Dec. 29 1953 ERLANDR.TWEDE 29, 1953 E. R. TWEDE 2664,041

DAMPER ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. l, 1950 2 Sheets4heet 2 INVENTOR ERLANDR.TWEDE Patentecl Dec. 29, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DAMPER ASSEZMBLY Exlan'rl R. "lwefle, Yub'a City, Gltllf.

Applicatinnl7abruary 1, 195.0, SerialNn. 141,727

2' Claims.

The present invention re1ates 110 a. damper .installation for heating conduits, and more particularly to a damper assembly employed in a. heating system where in the bot air conduit surrounds anc1 is concentric with the 001d a ir Conduit, the damper assembly being installed in. the h01", air conduit.

Broadly, the invention im:ludes a circular cold air return pipe a circu1ar warm air pipe surrounding the co1d air pipe, a pivotally mounted damper construction mounted in t;he warm .air pipe in proximity to one end 013 the piP.. and means located externally cf the pipes and operatively connected with the damper 190 .actuate the damper.

More specifically, the damper construction comprises a plurality cf louvers. pivotally supported within the warm air. pipe means..interconnecting adjacent louver;s whereby movement of one 1ouver will effect simultaneousmovement of all louvers, and a. manually operablemember. suibably connected to one of th e louver s for imparting Ehe desired pivotal movement vIn; -the louvers. Each iouver is substantially identical in structural detail, and the inner longitudinal edge of the louver is concave, while the outer longitudinal ec'ige is convex so that .the louvers will correspond to the outer diameter of the cold air return pipe and the inner diameter of the warm air pipe.

An importani; object of the present invention is 110 provicle a damper construction for Installa- I;ion m a heating system of the type -having a cold air return conduit within the warm air conduit which is rela'mvely simple in structural detai1 positive and efiicient in operation and. which can be readi1y install ed in systems of this character at relatively 1ittle added cost.

A further object of the present invention: is 110 provide a damper construction of I:he character described wherein the pivotally mounted louvers are of such configuration as to prevent any binding action between the wa1ls of.the respective conduits during operation.of the damper.

Yet a further object of my invention is 1:0 provide a damper assembly of the type hereinabove set forth which includes a. few essential working parts that can be cheaply manufactured and Which presents few problems from the maintenance point oi view.

With th foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction, anal in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the -invention.in detail, reference will be hadizo theaceompanying, drawings forming part cf this application, wherein 1ike characters denote correspondingparts in the several views, and in which;

Figura 1 is a fr.ont view of the outlet cf the warm air and co1d air return conduits, partly broken away, andpar.t1y insection.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken a1ong the 1in 2--2 cf Figure l, the -vi'ew .l0oking in the direction of the. arrows.

Figure 3 is a. view similar Figure 1 buI: being on a somewhat Iarger scale and with the grill omitted.

Figure 4 is .a detailedsectional view of the pivotally mount.ed louvers the louvers bein'g in the closed position.

Figure 5 is a vie w=similar .I;QFiguie 4.but showing the louvers in theopened positiom Figure 6 is a bottom view of one of the 1ouver members.

Figure 7 is vasicle; 1eviiional view of:the louver shown in Figure 6, an d Figure 8- is a side elevational view of 'the louver to which the control member is attached.

Referring to Figures 2 .and 3; a circular 001d a.ir ret.urn pipe o condit III is surrounded by a circular hot air conduit II, the conduits being concentric, a damper assembly denoted genera1ly I2 is mounted withinthe conduit vI I adjacent the free end cf the conduit, a control lever I3 is suitably connected to the damper I2 for actuating the damper and extends to a location externally of the assembly, and a grill I4 of any suitable or convenient type is attached 120 the outer*end of the conduit II, for the usual purpose.

The damper assembl-y I2 incl'udes an annular member I5 which isfixed to the inner diameter of the conduitat the proper location by welding or the 1ike; and is provided with an inwardly extending fiange I6. A ring-like member I'I is supported by the -annular member I5 by means of suitably disposed cross members I8 which cross members may be integrally formed with the annular member and ring-like member or separate elements brazed or otherwise attached to the members. The ring-like member I'I is also proxiidecl With an inwardly extending flange I9 and, as shown in Figure 2, the flanges I6 and I9 are oppositely disposed. The ring-like member I'I also serves to support the conduit III within the conduit II and the diameter of the conduit III is such as to provide a. friction fit between the conduit und the ring-like member II.

A plurality o! louvers are adapted to rast upon the flanges I6 and I9 in the closed position and, as shown in Figure 6, each louver comprises a. body portion 2I haVing edges 22 and 23, the edges extendin angularly in opposite directions. The inner longitudinal edge of the body is concave, as shown at 24, to conform to the curvature of the outer diameter of the conduit III, ancl the opposite longitudinal edge is convex, as indicated at 25, to coinclde with the curvature of the inner diameter of the conduit II. In order to pivotall connect each louver 20 to the annular member I5 and the ring-like member I'I, it will be noted that the fianges I6 and I9, respectively, are cut away to provide depending ears 26 and 2'I, respectively, and a rod 28 extends transversely of the body 2I adjacent thgedge 22 and is secured to the body by welding or the like. The rod is of a length to project beyond each longitudinal edge of the body and the end of the rod extending cver the edge 24 is inserted in an openfing formecl in the ear 2'I, while the opposite end cf the 10d extends through a similar opening in the ear 26, and the rod is inturned, as shown at 29, to prevent its removal from the ea1s. Hence, it can be seen that each louver will be mounted for upward and downward pivot2.l movement relative to the flangesI 8 and I 9.

As previously mentioned, the louvers 26 are adapted to be moved simultaneously, and to ac- 5 complish this end it will be seen in Figures 6 and 7 that a plate 30 is welded 01 otherwise conveniently attached to the body '2I near the edge 23 and the plate extends beyond the edge 23. The

plate is further provided with a pair of spaced apertures 3I and 32, the aperture 3I receiving hooked end 33 of a clip 34 and opposite hooked end 35 of the clip being adapted to engage aparture 32 of the plate 30 on the 2djacent louver 29.

T0 impa1t the desired pivotal movement to the louvers, it will be noted that one of the louvers, inclicated 20A, is provided with an ea1' 36 which is attached to the opposite o1 upper face of the body, and the free o1 inner end of the control lever I3 is bent at right angles, as shown at 3'I, to extend through the opening in the ear and maintained against removal from the ear by a pin 01' t'ne like 38.

While the operation of the damper is believed apparent, it will be Seen that with the control lever I3 in its completely withdrawn position the louvers 29 will be restin upon the flanges IG anal I9. However, upon inward movement of the comtrol lever, the louver 20A will be moved downwardly about its point of pivot and this pivotal movement will be instantaneously imparted to the remaining louvers through the connecting clips 34. The arrangement provides a refinement of control and can be very easily and quickly operated through the medium of the lever I3. The unit is not complex in either structural detail o1 operation, thereby enabling the assembly to oe 1eadily and inexpensively manufactured.

Instead of the rod 28 and the plate 30 being separate members attached to the body 2I, these elements may be stamped out during the process of manufacture, although it is felt that a. sturdier construction is efiected by having the members as ijmiviclual entities and thereafter attached to the The invention is not to be conflned to any strict conformity With the showing in the drawing, but may be changed o1 modified so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a damper assembly for installation in a. circular hot air conduit which surrounds a circular cold air return conduit, spaced apart annular supporting members within the bot ai1 Conduit, a plurality of louvers pivotally mounted said annular supporting members and extending completely around said annular supporting members, a platze extending forwardly from the front end of each louver, clip means connecting the front end of each plate With the rear end of the p1ate on an adjacent louver, and an operating lever secured to one of said louvers so that movement of the operating lever will impart simultaneous pivotal movement to all of the louvers through said plates and clip means.

2. In a damper assembly for Installation in a heating conduit of the type including a circular inner duct and a circular outer concentric duct, the respective cluots conducting ai1 of different temperatures, a plurality of louvers disposed in and extencling completely around said outer duct, complemental means carried by the outer duct and each louver for mounting the louvers for pivotal movement within the oute1 duct, the louvers being of such length that the front end of each louve1 may overlap the rear end of the adjacent louvers so that the outer duct is closed with the louvers in overlapped relation, a plate securecl to and extending forwardly from the front end of each louver, c1ip means connecting the front end of each plate with the rear end of the plz.te of an adjacent louver, and an operating lever attached to one of the louvers so that movement of the lever Will impart simultaneous pivotal movement to all of the louvers through saicl link means.

ERLAND R. 'I'WEDE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNIIED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 192181 Morrlson June 19, 1877 1706338 Workman Max. 19, 1929 1735760 Howa1d Nov. 12, 1929 2403291 Ku1th Ju1y 2, 1946 2.513,644 Hagen July 4, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Numaer Country Date 668,164 Germany Nov. 26, 1938 706,489 Germany May 28, 1941 

